Glitch cripples PS3 consoles around the world

Sony PlayStation 3 owners are being warned to not use their gaming console over the next 24 hours, due to a glitch in the console’s clock functionality.

According to a post on the Official PlayStation Blog, the issue is only affecting the older PS3 models, the new slim consoles are reportedly safe to use.

“As you may be aware, some customers have been unable to connect to the PlayStation Network. This problem affects the models other than the new slim PS3,” said Patrick Seybold, senior director corporate communications and social media.

“We believe we have identified that this problem is being caused by a bug in the clock functionality incorporated into the system.”

Seybold warned consumers to stop using the console while the issue was being fixed.

“We hope to resolve this problem within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, if you have a model other than the new slim PS3, we advise that you do not use your PS3 system, as doing so may result in errors in some functionality, such as recording obtained trophies, and not being able to restore certain data,” he said.

“As mentioned above, please be advised that the new slim PS3 is not affected with this error. We are doing our best to resolve the issue and do apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Some of the errors that consumers have experienced include:

– The date of the PS3 system may be reset to 1 January, 2000.
– When the user tries to sign in to the PlayStation Network, the following message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
– When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install trophies. Please exit your game.”
– When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date and time could not be obtained. (8001050F).”
– Users are not able to play back certain rental video downloaded from the PlayStation Store before the expiration date.